Skye, Rayne and Stars
by Pinefur
Summary: Sky is a loner caught by a WindClan patrol. Rainpaw is a apprentice outcast within her own Clan. Star is a queen with a deathly sickness. As they meet, their lives are intertwined in more ways than they can imagine.
1. Allegiances

**I am finally doing Allegiances!**

**WindClan**

**Leader**

Onestar

**Deputy**

Ashfoot

**Medicine Cat**

Birchtail

**Warriors**

Smoketail – Rainpaw

Adderstrike

Mistcloud – Sunpaw

Ravenfeather – Frogpaw

Darktail

Yarrowfur – Swamppaw

Pineclaw

**Apprentices**

Rainpaw

Sunpaw

Frogpaw

Swamppaw

**Queens**

Silvertail

Needlefur

**Kits**

Treekit

Fogkit

Grasskit

Moonkit

Twilightkit

**Elders**

Sharpclaw

Spottedtail

**ThunderClan**

**Leader**

Bramblestar

**Deputy**

Birchlight

**Medicine Cat**

Hollytail

**ShadowClan**

**Leader**

Russetstar

**Deputy**

Sparksky

**Medicine Cat**

Nightfoot

**RiverClan**

**Leader**

Mistystar

**Deputy**

Splashfur

**Medicine Cat**

Willowbranch


	2. Prologue

The young cat crept through the tangle of heather. She scented the breeze as it ruffled her fur, making her shiver. Her tail flicked the sharp smelling branches as the wind rustled them.

She had to hunt for the Clan. But she couldn't. They all hated her. Why should she work for them? She already knew what Smoketail would say: 'You should always hunt for the Clan, not yourself. You should follow the warrior code.' But how could any cat do that when they were an outcast within their own Clan?

Then… there! Rabbit! Maybe Smoketail would leave her alone if she actually caught something. She crept up on the unsuspecting creature.

Suddenly a twig from the heather snapped under her paw. The rabbit darted away without hesitating. The cat cursed herself. _Mousebrain! _This_ is why everybody hates you!_

The she-cat stumbled suddenly as a gust of air brought a new scent to her nose. Cat! But not a cat from her Clan. And this cat had the smell of sickness all over it. The young cat hissed as the foul stench wove its way into her head.

Then there was a yowl. It was almost to faint to be heard, not really a yowl but a whimper. The she-cat froze. This other cat had a deathly illness, she could tell. She should turn back now, and tell Onestar and Smoketail. But she couldn't. She knew deep in her soul that she had to help this cat.

Slowly the young she-cat padded across the windblown hill up to a clump of heather and trees at the edge of the territory. ThunderClan scent washed over her, and she flinched. Why did ThunderClan smell so horrible? The sickness smell made it seem even worse.

The cat finally reached the heather. She pushed the branches aside with her head. The smell made her feel terrible, maybe as sick as the cat who was actually in trouble.

Then she stopped. A pale queen was hidden in the tangle of twigs. She raised her head helplessly as the young she-cat approached her, moving the stems.

"Who are you?"

They both said it at the same time. The pale queen's flanks heaved as she fought for breath.

"Star. I'm Star." She motioned with her tail slightly to two small shapes beside her. "Sun and Moon. My kits. Please –." She broke off, coughing. "Please help us. We can't hunt, we will die here… the sickness…"

"Quiet," murmured the she-cat. "Don't speak. It's fine. I'll help you." She blinked. "I'm Rainpaw. From WindClan."

"Please, Rainpaw…" The queen fell silent. Her head fell onto the ground.

The kits, Sun and Moon, wailed pitifully. Rainpaw stretched out her head to lick them gently. "It's okay. I'll help you."

They stopped mewling and looked at the she-cat. She nodded and backed out of the heather. "Wait here, I'll get you food."

She didn't need to say it. They weren't going anywhere.

**That was a really demented prologue. Sorry! And just so you know, you weren't supposed to know the Rainpaw's name until the end when she tells Star, so please don't review it saying that I didn't use her name in the beginning! Hopefully the next chapter can come SOON!**


	3. Sky

**Okay, just so you know this takes place a while after Sunset. Onestar is the only leader that there was in the New Prophecy and the others are Mistystar, Bramblestar and Russetstar. I _might _try to get Allegiances posted, but no promises.  
**

Sky was hidden in the heather as the group of cats went by. She could detect by their scent alone that they were confident in these wind-blown hills, much more than she was. The tortoiseshell cat was used to forests. But she had ended up here, in this moorland, hiding from these cats. And there were so many cats, more than a loner such as her liked. Every so often a group of them would come by her hiding spot, and they were always different cats. There was an uncountable number of them.

There were two older toms and one younger she-cat in this group. The she-cat interested Sky the most. Toms were so stupid; they were always going off to fight and not think. Sky hissed under her breath as she remembered Stone. The mouse-brained fool had nearly blundered off a cliff when he was chasing another cat away!

Immediately one of the older cats turned to face the heather where she crouched, alerted by her hiss. Sky stiffened, hoping to be mistaken for the plant, but the tom padded up and pushed her out.

"Ow!" His claws snagged on her fur. Sky twisted around to swipe at his face.

"Who are you? What are you doing on WindClan territory?"

"WindClan? What's that?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what WindClan is! What Clan are _you_ from?" The tom reared up in front of her. Sky unsheathed her claws.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, you stupid furball!" she snapped. Her amber eyes flicked towards the she-cat. "Why are you attacking me?"

"Smoketail, wait!" protested the young she-cat. "She's telling the truth!"

The tom, Smoketail, spun around to face the cat, his gray fur fluffed up. "Of course _you_ would believe her, Rainpaw! You act like you're not even part of WindClan!"

Rainpaw's pelt bristled. "That's not true! I catch prey and go on patrols and stuff like I'm supposed to!"

"Yeah? Where were you the other day when I called for you to come on the dawn patrol? Sunpaw said he hadn't seen you since sun-high the previous day!"

_Stupid tom_, Sky thought. She started to pad backwards while the two cats were arguing. Maybe they wouldn't notice her leaving. But the second tom saw her.

"Stop!" he growled. Smoketail looked up at Sky again.

"You're coming with us,' he snarled. "We need to talk to Onestar about this."

"Onestar? That's a weird name. Who's Onestar?" Sky cocked her head.

"Great StarClan…" muttered Smoketail. "Maybe she really isn't from another Clan."

_No, duh, mousebrain_, the loner thought, exasperated. She rolled her eyes. "I'm a loner, obviously. What are these Clans?"

"They're groups of cats who live together," meowed Rainpaw before Smoketail or the other tom could answer. "There are four of them, WindClan ThunderClan, RiverClan and ShadowClan. And then there's StarClan, where cats go when they die-."

"Don't speak to this cat," hissed Smoketail. He unsheathed his claws and turned back to Sky. "Whoever you are, loner, you'll come with us!"

"I don't have to!" snapped Sky.

Smoketail narrowed his eyes. Rainpaw stepped forward. "Just come. Then no cat will get killed or something stupid will happen."

Sky's whiskers twitched amusingly. Rainpaw glanced at her. "All right, all right," muttered Sky. "But I'm not going to be your prisoner or anything." She held her tail high.

Smoketail growled. "Follow me." He raced across the wind-blown hills with the other tom on his heels. Rainpaw sighed. "Crazy furballs." She flicked her tail at Sky. "Come on. Onestar's fair. I mean, he's not going to claw your head off or something like that."

Sky started padding reluctantly ahead, following Smoketail. "So what _are_ Clans?" she asked.

"I told you, they're groups of cats that live and work together," meowed Rainpaw. "We hunt for each other and go on patrols and stuff. This is WindClan territory. We prefer to be in the openness of the hills, instead of being stuck in stupid trees like ShadowClan and ThunderClan. I'm an apprentice, which is why I have 'paw' at the end of my name. I'll get my warrior name when I become a warrior!"

"Warriors? Apprentices?"

Rainpaw nodded. "Yeah. Smoketail's my mentor. He trains me to become a warrior." She narrowed her eyes. "But all he does is complain about me."

Sky blinked. "Why? Are you going somewhere? Is that what he meant about Sun-whatsit-paw not seeing you for a day?"

Rainpaw's tail bristled. "None of you're business, _loner_!" she spat. The apprentice raced off.

Sky cocked her head to one side, startled by the she-cat's sudden anger. These cats were all mousebrains. She bounded after Rainpaw. _Might as well see this Onestar WindClan thing,_ she thought.

After a few minutes, the scent of many cats washed over Sky. She paused. Rainpaw was just ahead of her.

"This is the WindClan camp," the apprentice hissed. "Smoketail and Adderstrike went to get Onestar. He's our leader. All leaders have to be deputies. Then they go to the Moonpool when the previous leader dies and get nine lives from StarClan."

"_Nine lives_!" Sky's eyes widened.

Rainpaw nodded. Then there was a yowl. A tom with an air of authority was padding towards her with Smoketail and the other tom, Adderstrike, behind him.

"Smoketail and Adderstrike have told me that they brought a loner back to camp." Sky assumed that this was Onestar. He watched her carefully. "What were you doing on WindClan territory?"

"I was wandering through the forest," meowed Sky warily. She could feel the other WindClan cats studying her. "I came onto open hills in the middle of the night. I was really hungry, so a caught a rabbit. Then I fell asleep, and when I woke up, those patrol-ish-whatever things were all over the place."

"So you don't have a reason for being here?" That was Smoketail. He sounded disappointed.

Sky shook her head.

"We will keep you here until I decide what to do." Onestar turned and walked away.

"_What_?" Sky hissed. "I won't be a captive here!"

Onestar swiveled around and glared at her. "Yes, you will. Dawnbreak, Redfur, you watch her." A silvery she-cat and rusty-furred tom stepped towards Sky. The loner spat at them. But Smoketail was right behind her now.

"You will do what Onestar says!" he growled.

Sky flattened her ears against her head. The cats were crowding around her now; she couldn't escape. The tortoiseshell felt herself being pushed by the mass of cats until she was by a heather bush with old cats sleeping inside.

"You will stay by the elder's den at all times!" snarled Smoketail. "I suppose you can obey that more than Rainpaw obeys my orders!" He stalked away.

The cats turned to glare at Rainpaw. The apprentice seemed to shrink under their gazes. Then she turned and ran out of the camp.

Sky wished with all her heart that she could follow and get out of the horrible place.

**Is it okay? Please review it if you are reading it, even if you are making a suggestion how I can make it better. I'm not exactly sure how this will turn out yet. I based it off a game my friends and I were playing like a month ago but we never finished it. So I will also take ideas for what will happen!**


	4. Sickness

**This chapter is really short – sorry! Oh, and I finally got Allegiances posted.**

Star breathed heavily. The sickness was destroying her, she could feel it. But she worried about Sun and Moon the most. They were kits. How could they deal with the illness? They had only survived because that cat, Rainpaw, was bringing them fresh-kill every day.

Star shifted as she heard a noise. "Wha-?" She broke off in a coughing fit.

"Shh," murmured a voice.

"Rainpaw?" Star closed her eyes.

"Yes. Here's some food."

Star guided Moon and Sun towards the food with her tail. The kits started to gobble it down hungrily. Rainpaw pushed up a wad of leaves. "Here, have these."

"Plants?" asked Moon. "We don't eat plants!"

"They'll make you feel better. Really!" The she-cat noticed Moon's incredulous look.

Star nodded slightly, though she was lying down on her side. "Eat… them."

Sun and Moon hesitated, then chewed up the leaves.

The queen saw Rainpaw brighten as the kits ate the sharp smelling leaves. "All right," the young Clan cat meowed. "You'll be just fine."

Star wished that she could believe it.

**Too short! Oh well. Pleeeeeeeeeease review it if you have read it!**


	5. Trust and Hate

**Thanks to all of the people who have read this far and reviewed it! Oh, and Aviation****is like psychic because she guessed what was going to happen soon. So this chapter is dedicated to her and psychic people for some random reason. **

"Wake up, _loner_."

Sky raised her head sleepily. Some cat was prodding her in the side. She opened her amber eyes to see that it was Darktail. Sky had been in the Clan for almost a week now as a prisoner, so she knew the names of all of the cats.

The dark-furred tom hissed at her. "Get up, for StarClan's sake! Onestar wants you to go on the dawn patrol!"

"What?" Sky blinked. "Me? Why does he want _me_ on a patrol?"

"I don't know!" spat Darktail. "Just go, all right? He's over there, with Rainpaw and Smoketail." He motioned with his tail to where the cats were waiting, and Sky looked over to where they were. Rainpaw slouched as Smoketail muttered something at her.

Sky stood up. "Okay, whatever." Darktail watched her go towards the patrol for a moment, then turned to get something from the fresh-kill pile that lay in the center of camp. Sky padded close enough to hear Smoketail's comments.

"Honestly, Rainpaw, why have you become so disobedient? When you were first made an apprentice, you actually tried hard to become a warrior. Now you don't even hunt! You even get out of going on patrols."

Rainpaw mumbled something that Sky couldn't hear. Smoketail's dark eyes burned into the young apprentice's fur. "What do you mean? Swamppaw saw you catch a rabbit yesterday! But when you came back from hunting – no rabbit! You need to feed the Clan first. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I didn't eat it, if that's what you mean," snapped Rainpaw, shooting at glare across the camp to where Swamppaw sat with his mentor, Yarrowfur.

"Oh? I suppose it just disappeared into thin air, then."

Rainpaw narrowed her eyes. "You don't know anything!" she spat, and wheeled around to run out of the camp. Onestar skidded in front of her. "Rainpaw! I am surprised at this. For this display of foolishness, you will not be permitted to leave camp until the full moon!"

Rainpaw seemed to go pale, despite her fur. "W-what?"

"You heard me." Onestar glared at her.

"But – that can't happen!" Rainpaw's eyes were wide with distress.

"Maybe you should get some sense then," growled Smoketail. He almost seemed ready to attack the apprentice. Sky ran up to the group before anything could happen.

"Hi, Onestar. Darktail said you wanted me on the dawn patrol."

Smoketail's eyes became slits. "That's right, he does. See?" He turned to Rainpaw. "Even a prisoner is more trusted than you!" Sky felt Rainpaw glaring at her, but the loner didn't look at the apprentice. "Go and take the elders some fresh-kill," hissed Smoketail.

Rainpaw darted off. Onestar sighed. "Why is she doing this?"

Smoketail blinked. "I don't know."

"I think she's worrying about something," meowed Sky quietly. The toms turned to her. "I mean, she must have something on her mind."

"Hmmm." Onestar turned away. "All right, let's patrol the territory."

Smoketail and Sky followed the WindClan leader out of the camp. The moorland breeze ruffled Sky's fur. She shivered.

She desperately wanted trees.

**Ahh! The chapters are too short! But the next one will be _much_ longer, I promise! I will work on it right now!**


	6. Jealousy

**Sorry I haven't updated for a while... but I think this chapter is pretty good, so yay!**

Rainpaw was watching the rabbit carefully. She crept forward through the moorland grass, downwind from the prey. It gnawed on a branch of heather, oblivious to her approach.

Then her foot caught on a stalk of grass. It snapped silently, but the rabbit pricked its ears then raced off. Rainpaw cursed herself. _What did I do that for? I _saw_ that stalk. I knew I would trip over it._ Her thoughts flooded in her mind angrily as she bolted after the creature.

"Rainpaw!"

Smoketail's yowl made the rabbit run even faster. Rainpaw skidded to a halt and panted for breath.

"For StarClan's sake, what are you doing?" The tom raced up to his apprentice and growled. "I taught you; it's useless to chase after a rabbit!"

Rainpaw muttered under her breath. "Stupid furball."

Smoketail hissed in frustration. Just then Yarrowfur and her apprentice, Swamppaw, padded over with a tortoiseshell she-cat. Rainpaw narrowed her eyes – it was Sky, the loner prisoner.

"What is it?" Yarrowfur asked.

Swamppaw blinked. "Hi, Rainpaw. Were you chasing after a rabbit? They run really fast, don't they? Yarrowfur told me _never_ to chase one, but-." He was cut off by a short snarl from Rainpaw.

"Rainpaw!" meowed Smoketail. "Stop it!" He motioned angrily with his tail towards Sky. "Look, the _loner_ even caught a few mice today. Better than you! You haven't even gotten a single bite to eat. How can you, spending all your time chasing after rabbits?"

Rainpaw raised her head and glared at him. "I can do things besides catch prey all day!" she snapped. "There's more to being an apprentice than that!" She rose her tail and stalked off. Smoketail watched her go with a look of disgust.

As soon as Rainpaw padded up the next hill where the hunting patrol couldn't see her she broke into a run. Quickly she scented a rabbit and crouched down, took aim, and sprang. In a heartbeat it lay at her paws. _Why can I always get prey when no cat is looking, but when they are I totally mess up?_

The apprentice picked up the sound of a mouse in the grass. Rainpaw leaped forward and swiped at its hiding place.

The she-cat picked up her two pieces of fresh-kill in her mouth. Then she hesitated. _Should I bring it to the Clan? They need it, but… no cat is taking care of Star and her kits. The Clan has other hunters…_ She paused, uncertain.

Suddenly Rainpaw found her paws carrying her in the direction across the moorland she knew all too well – the place of the heather shelter.

The breeze brought the scent of sickness to her nose. Rainpaw shrugged the stench off; she was used to it by now. It was a wonder that Birchtail, the medicine cat, didn't have her in his den already. The smell must be in her fur.

The smell of fresh-kill must have reached the cats already, for Moon and Sun were wailing. Rainpaw raced up to the bush and pushed aside the branches. Star opened one eye sleepily.

"The kits – they need it," she rasped.

"You must eat too," Rainpaw soothed her. "To get better. Your kits need _you_, as well as food."

Sun and Moon leaped onto the rabbit. Star stretched out to poke at the mouse with one paw.

Rainpaw dipped her head and crept back. As she left the heather, her first thought was, _the sickness scent isn't so bad – I'm sure of it!_

* * *

"Rainpaw!"

_Oh StarClan_. Rainpaw hissed, annoyed. Smoketail was padding over across the WindClan camp to her with his tail high. She carried a small bird that had lifted off from the ground too late, but the apprentice wasn't sure the meager prey would satisfy him.

"Is that all you have?" the she-cat's mentor jeered. "Even Sunpaw caught more than that, and he just barely started his training! You were hunting all day!"

Rainpaw turned away and ignored him.

Smoketail pushed in front of her. "I've told Onestar about this," he growled. "And he agrees with me – you're not going to the Gathering tonight!"

Rainpaw dropped her bird on the fresh-kill pile and her amber eyes widened. "What? But it's the full moon. That's why I could leave camp today. My punishment is over!"

Smoketail hissed. "Then maybe you should try to be an actual apprentice and work hard for the Clan!" His fur bristled angrily. "Well, the rogue is going to the Gathering tonight, and you're not!"

Rainpaw felt a growl start in her throat. She spun around to face where the prisoner stayed by the elders' den. Sky glanced up as the apprentice glared at her, as if she could feel the stare burning into her fur. Amber eyes met amber eyes for a moment, and Rainpaw glowered at the she-cat. Then the loner dropped her head back onto her paws, her whiskers twitching slightly.

Onestar padded into the center of the camp before Rainpaw could snap at her mentor. "All the chosen cats come," the tom yowled. "We will leave for the Gathering!"

Mistcloud, and her apprentice, Sunpaw, walked over to the leader first. Ravenfeather, Frogpaw, Adderstrike, Ashfoot, Spottedtail and Needlefur followed them. Sky stood hesitantly, then Sunpaw motioned with his tail for her to join the group. Sky blinked at him gratefully and started over to the other cats.

As the loner padded out of the camp, Rainpaw felt jealousy prickle her fur.

**Do you think its good? Review it! PLEASE!! Seeeeeeee the button? Cliiiiiiiiick the button.**


	7. Author's Note again with REVENGE

Me: I'm back! Yayayayayay! I can write again!

Random people: Yay!

Me: And now it's time to kill Skyterror!

Fanfiction people: YAY!!!

Rainpaw: mutters Finally...

Me: Shut up Rainpaw.

Sky: She's right! He took my name! He must die!

Rainpaw: Kind of took your name.

Sky: Well, only one can have the name Sky. And I'm keeping my name!

Spottedleaf: _Neither can live while the other survives..._

Me: You mousebrain! That's from Harry Potter! It's a prophecy about a TWOLEG!

Spottedleaf: Oops.

Me: Anyways... get him Teraorm!

golden dragon appears and eats Skyterror, then falls over

Me: Nooo! I forgot he was too stupid to eat! Please come back to life!

dragon comes back to life

Me: That's better. Now on to the next chapter...


	8. The Gathering

**By the way Sky's age is about ten moons, so like an apprentice who is not quite a warrior, I think.**

Sky shivered as the scent of many, many cats washed over her. She looked across the water to the island where the cats were walking. They padded across a fallen tree to get to the land, the place where this so called Gathering was going to be held.

Onestar raised his head. "WindClan, follow me!" he meowed, leaping onto the tree trunk. It barely shifted under his weight. The rest of the cats stepped up, but Sky hesitated.

"It's safe, don't worry," Sunpaw mewed. "Cats cross on it all of the time."

Sky's tail tip twitched, but she took a step forward. Placing her paws on the rough bark, the loner slowly eased up onto it.

"Right." Sunpaw jumped up behind her. His mentor, Mistcloud, followed the two young cats as Sky inched over to the island.

The loner felt her fur prickle kind of in shame as she leaped onto the bank. Sunpaw and Mistcloud were right behind her, and Sky flinched to see how easily they moved over the tree.

"Sorry I'm so slow," Sky mumbled.

"It doesn't matter," Sunpaw meowed. "Come on, I want to meet the RiverClan apprentices." The tortoiseshell trailed after him as the young tom padded over to a group of cats about his age.

Sky tasted the air. "They have a different scent!"

"That's because we're from RiverClan," a brown she-cat explained. "Don't you know the Clans?"

Sky paused, confused. "Sky's a loner Onestar is keeping in the Clan," Sunpaw broke in.

The she-cat blinked. "Is she a prisoner?"

"Kind of," muttered Sky.

"Oh." The she-cat fell silent.

A gray tom with the same scent as the she-cat spoke up. "Well, there are four Clans. We're RiverClan. And you know you're from WindClan. So there are also ShadowClan and ThunderClan."

Sky narrowed her eyes. "Rainpaw said something about that, I think. Anyway, that's a lot of cats. How do you stand living and working together, and staying organized?"

The tom purred in amusement. "We're brought up in the Clan. It's just normal for us, I guess."

There was a yowl from the giant tree in the middle of the island. Cats turned away from where they were sharing news with the other Clan warriors and padded over the sit down by the towering plant.

"The leaders of each Clan are going to speak," hissed Sunpaw. Pointing with his tail, he mewed quietly, "That's Russetstar. And there's Mistystar. That is Brambleclaw, from ThunderClan, but why is he up there? Did Firestar lose his last life?"

Sky blinked, truly confused. "_Last_ life?" she echoed.

"Cats of all Clans," yowled the tom Sunpaw identified as Brambleclaw. "Our leader, Firestar, lost his ninth life shortly after the last Gathering. StarClan have accepted me as ThunderClan's new leader!"

"We welcome you, Bramblestar," meowed Onestar. Russetstar and Mistystar mewed agreement.

"How can they have a lost life?" Sky whispered to Sunpaw. The apprentice glanced at her.

"When a leader dies, the deputy becomes the next leader. They go to the Moonpool to share tongues with StarClan and receive nine lives and the name 'star'."

"I thought it was just a story when Rainpaw told me about Onestar having nine lives," she murmured. "So… they can die and come back to life nine times?"

Sunpaw nodded.

"ThunderClan is strong," Bramblestar continued. "We have two new warriors, Hollyfur and Jaywing." All the gathered cats turned to stare at two young cats sitting proudly among others with, Sky realized, a scent that must be ThunderClan.

Mistystar, a silvery-blue she-cat, spoke next. Then Russetstar, and finally Onestar. The leaders' meows blurred in Sky's head. They all said mostly the same things, and she wasn't really listening anymore.

Suddenly she heard Sunpaw take a quick breath. She shook her head and looked up as he flicked her with his tail.

Onestar was looking directly at her. "A loner has come into our Clan as a prisoner," he was saying. "If you scent her by your borders do not worry – she is with our Clan temporarily."

Sky froze and her breathing came in quick shallow gasps as every head turned to stare at her with questioning – and some hostile – unblinking eyes.


	9. Downpour and Talkativeness

"So? How was the Gathering? Was it cool? What happened? What did the other leaders say?"

As soon as the WindClan cats entered their camp, Swamppaw came bounding up to the group. _Questions pour from him like rain from storm clouds_, Sky thought as the apprentice eagerly listened as Needlefur, a tortoiseshell queen, told him about the Clans' meeting. His queries interrupted her meows about every three seconds, though, so the she-cat didn't tell him much.

Soon the cats had all gotten fresh-kill and were sitting by their dens. Sky hesitantly took a mouse and walked back to the place by the elder's den where she stayed. The loner looked up as a hiss came from the apprentice's den. Rainpaw was glaring at Swamppaw from just outside the den, and Sky remembered how she had become so angry with the young tom for telling Smoketail that she a caught a rabbit but she hadn't brought it back.

Rainpaw must have been thinking the same thing, because she muttered, "Stupid mousebrain. Couldn't catch a rabbit if it sat between his paws," and stalked back under the shelter.

Sky glanced over at where Swamppaw sat with the other apprentices. He didn't look as if he could keep his mouth shut long enough to sneak up on a rabbit; the apprentice rambled on and on about random things for what seemed like a moon. Right now he was jabbering away to Frogpaw and Sunpaw, who were doing their best to tell him about the parts of the Gathering that Needlefur hadn't spoken about.

Sky half-listened to the apprentice's chatter. _How long is Onestar going to keep me here?_ She wondered. _If I stay any longer my head will explode from Swamppaw's ending meowing!_

Suddenly the rouge became aware of a change in the air. She looked up at the sky, and just as she did a huge raindrop hit her on the nose. Sky recoiled, crawling back under the overhang of gorse next to the elder's den.

In a minute, the rain was pouring down in ice cold sheets. The apprentices now huddled in their den, Sunpaw, Swamppaw and Frogpaw drenched by the water. Sky's whiskers twitched. At least she had gotten under shelter before she got wet.

The tortoiseshell she-cat watched the rain pour as she heard the elders quiet and stop rustling around. The rest of the camp was silent, even Swamppaw.

Sky felt her eyes close. She was tired from the journey to and from the Gathering, and it was well past moonhigh. Soon sleep washed over the loner, and darkness fell over her.

* * *

Rainpaw knew when all the other apprentices were asleep. She waited until their breathing slowed and calmed, then uncurled herself and stood up. Carefully padding around Swamppaw, who was muttering 'flying mice are flying' in his sleep, she stuck her head out of the apprentice's den. Water soaked her muzzle immediately. Rainpaw grimaced - she didn't like the idea of going outside in this storm, but at least it meant that no cat would be guarding the camp entrance or patrolling nearby, and Star desperately needed to be checked on with this kind of downpour.

The she-cat pushed her way out of the apprentices' den. Her fur became plastered to her body in a heartbeat, freezing her, but she padded into the center of the camp where the fresh-kill pile was. Only a thin rabbit remained. Rainpaw shrugged and picked up the rabbit. Any food would be better than none.

As soon as she was out of the camp, Rainpaw broke into a run. She disappeared into the wind-blown hills with the rabbit grasped in her mouth.

**Okay that chapter was kind of strange, at least it seemed that way to me, but I don't know why. Swamppaw sure is talkative (in chapter 6, too)! Anyway, the next chapter will be a LOT more interesting – this one was kind of boring. Stuff will happen (bet you couldn't figure **_**that**_** out) but there will be a new twist (kind of)! So review it and I will try to write the next chapter soon!**


	10. Discovery

**Making… it… BETTER! Revision! The last time it wasn't that good. I was kind of rushing through it, and, well… so now it is better (I hope). Probably just longer, but I tried to put more detail-ish stuff in.**

Sky didn't know what made her wake up. She was sleeping deeply one heartbeat, then wide awake the next. The loner slowly blinked her eyes open, and raised her muzzle off of her paws.

It was still raining as hard as ever. Sky hissed as a bright flash a lightning lit up the clouds, the sky echoing with a loud crash of thunder.

A sudden movement caught the loner's attention. Her eyes darted over to the apprentice's den just as a sleek figure slipped from the shelter. _Strange, _she thought. _What's Rainpaw doing outside in the middle of this storm?_ Sky slowly stood up, then looked around. No other cats were in sight.

The rogue padded across the camp, shivering as the cold rain seeped into her fur. She paused just before padding outside the camp to make sure that no cats were watching her. After a heartbeat, Sky pushed through the camp entrance and stood outside of the dip in the hills where the camp was.

Rainpaw's scent lingered faintly, already almost washed away by the water. It pointed up, away from the lake at the bottom of the WindClan territory. Sky hesitated, then followed it across the hills warily.

After many minutes of tracking a new smell hung in the air. Sky stopped. Sickness! She didn't want to go on. But the apprentice's scent moved unwaveringly towards the stench. Sky put one paw forward slowly. _I won't catch this disease. Right?_ Carefully she crept onward.

Then Sky saw a small shape disappear into a clump of heather about twenty fox-lengths away. She walked over to the plant, making sure that Rainpaw didn't see her. There was no scent of any other cat here, so patrols probably didn't come this way.

As Sky neared the heather, she noticed Rainpaw was pushing a rabbit farther into the branches. Looking closer, she glimpsed a she-cat and two small kits. Rainpaw was feeding the kits with the prey.

Sky peered at the queen. She seemed oddly familiar, although Sky didn't think she had seen her before. Her scent, the one underneath the sickness, stirred a distant memory in the rogue's mind.

Sky padded up cautiously. After a moment, she meowed quietly. "What are you doing?"

Rainpaw stiffened, but didn't answer. She flinched at Sky's meow and almost turned, but continued giving the kits the rabbit.

"They're sick! What about the cats at camp? What if they catch this sickness? Why are you doing this?"

In a heartbeat the apprentice whirled around. "You think you're so much better!" she spat. "Just because you do what Onestar says! You're the same as the rest of them! Stupid, mouse-brained, and stuck up! You act as though you are superior, just because you go to a Gathering instead of some other cats! Just because they trust you!"

Sky was blinking at her.

"I don't care what you think!," Rainpaw snarled. "I'm going to keep helping Star. Even if you are a idiotic furball you can't stop me, no matter how good you think you are." She turned back to the kits.

Sky felt her fur bristle, despite the fact that it was plastered to her body. Her amber eyes flashed, then she turned away. "Fine," she hissed over her shoulder. "If that's what you think. Give me one reason, just _one_, to show that I have acted superior at all to you."

She twisted back around and ran away, over the hills. Almost in the direction of camp.


	11. Kin

**I'm so sorry I have not updated this story in a long time! I was writing other things, and I completely forgot about it. So here is another chapter, and hopefully I'll remember to update it faster!**

Sky waited until the moon was far away, near the horizon. Then she stood stiffly from where she had sat, pondering what Rainpaw had done. Why was the apprentice caring for sick cats?

The queen, Rainpaw said her name was Star. And that name was oddly familiar, although Sky knew of no cats named Star in the Clans. Still, it haunted her and she searched her mind for a clue.

She decided to go back to the ill she-cat. The loner waited until it was almost dawn, then padded back across WindClan territory. The storm's rain had washed away much of the scents, and Sky had a difficult time finding the heather clump.

Then she spotted it in the distance, and sure enough, the bitter scent of sickness rose on the slight breeze. Sky wrinkled her nose, then bolted over the remaining hills between her and the heather.

The queen was huddled inside, and she didn't notice the tortoiseshell she-cat at first. Two kits tumbled around her, and they had probably just woken up.

Sky crept forward cautiously. "H-hello?"

Star's head snapped up, and she bared her teeth. Suddenly she started coughing. The kits squealed and backed away from Sky, into their mother's pelt. "You're that cat with Rainpaw," Star rasped.

"Yes."

"What do you want?"

"I-I don't know. I recognized your name."

"Like there are no other cats named Star in the entire world."

Sky growled softly, then tried to change the subject. "What are your kits' names?"

Star glared at her suspiciously, then pointed to each kit in turn with her tail. "The tom is Sun, and the she-cat is Moon."

Suddenly realization clicked in Sky's mind as she heard the kit's names. "Stone!" she breathed.

Star looked up sharply. "What?"

"That's where I heard about you! And the kits! From Stone!"

Star shivered. "I-I knew a tom named Stone."

"Was he gray-brown with dark stripes along his back? Then I knew him, if he looked like that." Sky unsheathed her claws against the ground in excitement.

Star didn't hesitate in answering. "Yes."

"He's their father." It wasn't a question, but the sick queen nodded anyway.

"I knew Stone," hissed Sky again. "He's my brother!"

**Remember Stone from the third chapter (from Sky's point of view)? HAHAHA! Now I can include him a little more! Well, look for an update mutters 'hopefully' soon!**


	12. Moon

**This is from Moon's POV for some reason...**

Moon was tired of hiding in the heather bush.

She yawned, showing small teeth, and clambered through the sweet smelling branches. The kit's white coat shimmered in the dappled moonlight that filtered in between the fronds of heather. Beside her, Sun slept peacefully, mewing in his dreams and making content noises in the back of his throat. Moon brushed her brother's side with her tail. Her mother was sleeping as well, and with her pale pelt looked almost like a ghost. She twitched and coughed once, then curled up again.

Moon sniffed the air. It was scented with heather and the stench of sickness, although Moon had gotten used to that odor. The little she-cat nosed her way out of the space within the heather that they stayed in and pushed out of the plant.

She quivered with excitement as she gazed up at the stars. They were like flecks of fire spread across the sky. To Moon it seemed as though there was a secret hidden within the bright points of light.

_Spirit of the Moon…_

Moon jumped. She stared up as a cat's voice echoed in her mind. The kit hissed in surprise and leaped back into the heather bush, borrowing into the stems. Moon crouched beside Sun as soon as she was next to him.

Violent coughing made the albino she-cat turn. Moon looked at Star as she sneezed again and clawed the ground. The queen opened one eye, and Moon saw that it was clouded with disease and pain. The kit backed away from her mother as Star curled up in agony.

"Moon…" the pale she-cat whimpered as her other eye opened and fixed on her kit. "Moon…"

Moon's fur bristled in fear. What was happening? Star yowled and coughed once more, sprawled on the ground.

Sun woke up with a start. "W-what-?" he whispered.

Moon was still staring at their mother. "She – she needs those herbs that the rainy-paw cat brought!" She spun around.

"But we don't know what they are?" wailed Sun. His golden-brown fur was standing on end, and his tail lashed the air miserably.

"Then wait here!"

"What?"

Moon had already ran out of the heather bush with Sun staring after her. She bolted blinding in one direction. The kit didn't know which herbs the rainy-paw cat had used, but she recalled the smell in her mind. One of the leaves was wide and sweet-smelling, but another had been bitter and had a purplish color.

Then she was at the top of a hill.

The kit stared around. The wide moorland stretched on for what seemed like forever to her, but there was also forest in the distance. And farther down, far away was a shining stretch of water, glimmering in the moonlight.

Moon was in awe at first. And then she realized that she could never find her way around through all of this land. The albino kit sat down heavily and wailed.

Then she heard it again

_Spirit of the Moon, you know the way…_

Moon shivered and looked at the sky again. What way? And what was this voice?

_It's there… if you can sense it._

Sense it? She sniffed the air.

Sweet leaves!

Moon jumped up and glanced around. There! There was a tall bush of the leaves that the rainy-paw cat had used. The kit leaped towards it. Now she could help Star!

Suddenly a dark shape intercepted her. Moon whimpered and crouched back as she hit the grass. Her legs collapsed from underneath her.

"Who are _you_?" a voice snarled.

**Ha! Cliffhanger ending! I will try to update soon because now a lot of stuff is going to start happening!**


	13. The WindClan Camp

**Just a note, I will probably not be updating my series Power of Stars for a while because I am kind of having a block there and now I am working more and this story and Last Chance to Breathe.**

Moon opened her eyes as the cat let her go. He dropped her curled body onto the ground, and she cowered there. Other cats were nearby, and the kit tried to make her self as small as possible.

"Smoketail! What-?"

There was a voice nearby. Moon wailed and pressed herself farther into the grass. The tom who had caught her snarled. "A rogue, Onestar! She will scare all the prey away, and try to take our territory!"

"Nonsense!" spat the second cat. Moon opened one eye into a slit to look at him. He was a small brown tabby with an air of authority. "That's only a kit! She can't do anything."

"A kit means there is more than one!" the tom that was named Smoketail growled. "A queen will be nearby."

_Mother…_ thought Moon. "Please, help me," she croaked.

The toms glanced down and seemed surprised to see her talk.

"What?" asked the brown tabby, the one named Onestar.

"Star… needs herbs…" Moon choked out.

"Herbs?" Smoketail inhaled. "Sickness! She smells of greencough! Get her away before she infected any cats."

_Greencough? _thought Moon. She sneezed, and shapes started swimming in front of her eyes. The toms' faces swirled around her and she fell into a whirlpool of black.

* * *

Moon opened her eyes in a dark cave. She blinked and shifted to her paws. Immediately she felt dizzy, and lay back down.

"Rest, young kit," purred a voice. Moon swung her head around. A light brown tom was standing over her, pressing a salve to her head. "Here, eat this." He offered a leaf, one of the bitter ones.

Moon took it, then sat up. "I need to…to…" She broke off coughing.

"Sleep," mewed the tom. "You need to sleep."

"Mmm…" murmured the kit, settling back on the ground. Then her eyes snapped open. "Who are you?"

"I'm Birchtail, the WindClan medicine cat." The tom started picking through some herbs.

"WindClan?" Moon cocked her head to one side. "Oh, a Clan. The rainy-paw cat said she was from WindClan. She said that there were four Clans, and-."

"What? Who told you this?" Birchtail looked surprised, and his eyes narrowed. "Which cat?"

"The rainy-paw cat!" Moon meowed eagerly. "She helped us and gave us herbs. That's why we're alive. She lives here?" Her ears were pricked as she waited for a reply.

To Moon's surprise Birchtail looked solemn. "I think I need to tell Onestar about this," he meowed at last.

"Why?" asked Moon. "The rainy-paw cat is nice."

The medicine cat didn't reply.

"Oh." The albino kit shrugged.

Birchleaf flicked his tail back and forth, then left the den.

Moon stared after him for a moment, then closed her eyes, laying her head onto her paws. After a few minutes pawsteps came near, and Birchleaf entered.

"Can you come out here, please?" he asked. "If you're strong enough."

Moon nodded, and staggered to her paws. She stumbled out of the den and let Birchleaf help her to where the small brown tabby that was named Onestar sat. She curled up on the ground drowsily in front of him, her energy already gone. The sudden bout of sickness had really taken a lot of her strength away.

"Hello, young one," Onestar meowed, dipping his head.

A gray tom nearby shouldered his way forward. "How many are you, and why are you on our territory?"

Moon cowered under his glare. Her white fur bristled and her tail lashed the air.

"Stop, Smoketail," hissed Onestar firmly. He turned back to Moon. "Do you have a mother near?"

Moon nodded. "And a brother." She abruptly wondered if she should be telling this to the cat after the rainy-paw cat had kept them hidden. _But Star and Sun need the herbs…_ she thought.

"So three of you," muttered Smoketail.

Glancing at him, Onestar continued. "And how did you survive this long with greencough?"

"The rainy-paw cat brought us herbs," Moon mewed, impatiently this time.

Onestar frowned. "The rainy-paw cat?"

Moon nodded. "She said the herbs would make us better. And they did! At least, mom said that we would already be dead if we didn't have those leaves. So I guess they helped."

Smoketail growled deep in his throat. "Rainy-paw?"

Onestar gave him a hard look. "Ashfoot, go get Rainpaw."

A pale queen behind him blinked and padded across the camp. Smoketail started to move forward, but Onestar stopped him. "She's my apprentice!" the gray tom protested.

Onestar nodded. "But I need you to stay here."

Smoketail did not seem satisfied with this answer, but he sat down.

After a few heartbeats, Ashfoot emerged from a den with a young she-cat trailing him. Moon jumped up. "Rainy-paw cat! It's the rainy-paw cat!" She would have run over, but she was too tired. The she-cat looked at her, then dropped her head to stare at the grass.

"Well, Rainpaw," started Onestar calmly. "How does this cat know you?"

She mumbled something.

Moon purred. "I know; she helped us and gave us leaves! And guess what? Guess what?" She looked gratefully at Rainpaw, who was hissing for her to stop meowing. "I remembered which leaves you used, and I was going to get some for my mom because she was coughing again, but then that cat Smoketail caught me and brought me here." She paused, and blinked at the WindClan cats who were staring at her.

Finally Rainpaw spoke. "Smoketail, you _caught_ her?"

Smoketail snarled. "Why are you meeting with loners and rogues?"

"I couldn't let them die!" hissed Rainpaw. Her claws gouged the ground. Moon nodded. "Yeah, and the leaves helped make us better!" she squeaked. A growl made her stop speaking.

"Rainpaw, why did you do this?" spat Smoketail. He stepped forward, and Moon drew back from him. Ashfoot moved protectively towards the kit out of instinct. "How could you betray your Clan like this?"

His yelling was drawing attention from the other WindClan cats. They clustered around hesitantly, trying not to be noticed by the furious Smoketail. Moon recognized the tortoiseshell that had come after the rainy-paw cat had left, the one named Sky. Onestar glanced at the cats, then looked back at Rainpaw.

The young she-cat raised her head and stared defiantly at the two toms. "WindClan's not my Clan!" she snarled. There was a gasp from the cats watching. She turned and glared at them. "It's true! All any cat thinks is that everyone needs to be strong and hunt well. Well, that's… that's just mousebrained!"

"Rainpaw…" meowed Onestar, flicking his tail.

"Shut up!" sneered Rainpaw spinning around again. "I don't want to be part of WindClan if you're all going to be so stupid."

"But you can't leave!" mewed Frogpaw from the back of the crowd.

"Yes, I can!" Rainpaw looked at Sky, who stepped back. "You all accept that _rogue_ so much. Why don't you let _her_ be part of the Clan?"

Sky hissed, but Onestar stepped up. "Stop this!" he meowed sternly. Moon stared at Rainpaw, who looked as though she was about to attack the tom. Just then Smoketail moved up to his apprentice. "Rainpaw, what-."

The she-cat yowled and leaped at him with claws unsheathed. Smoketail's eyes widened in surprise and he fell to the ground as the younger cat clawed at his side. The gray tom snarled and pushed Rainpaw away, slashing her muzzle. Rainpaw bit down onto his shoulder until red oozed from it.

Moon squealed as blood splattered into her face as the two tumbled across the grass.

The yelp seemed to break a trance, and instantly all the WindClan cats jumped forward to stop the fighting. Adderstrike held Smoketail back, and Mistcloud and Pineclaw kept the struggling Rainpaw from moving.

Onestar stepped between them. "This is disgraceful!" he hissed. "We can't have cats fighting within this Clan!"

"I'm - not - part - of - this - Clan!" gasped Rainpaw. Mistcloud stared at her, and in that heartbeat she squirmed away. Bounding up the apprentice ran across the dip in the ground and out of the camp.

Ravenfeather and Yarrowfur started to chase her, but Onestar stopped them with a yowl. They turned, looking confused.

"If Rainpaw does not want to be a part of WindClan she does not have to," he mewed, dipping his head in sadness and also powerlessness.

Smoketail narrowed his eyes. "You're just going to let her go?"

"Should I keep her a prisoner here?" retorted Onestar.

The cats muttered among themselves for a minute. Moon looked up. "Does this mean she's not going to bring any more herbs?" she asked.

The toms seemed to have forgotten that she was there. Onestar jumped slightly, and turned to her. "You need herbs?" he demanded.

The albino kit nodded shyly.

The brown tabby's ear twitched. "Well, can you show me where your family is waiting?"


	14. Found and Lost Again

The sun was rising as the cats made their way through WindClan territory. Onestar stayed at the head of the patrol with Moon, who was padding wearily towards the heather bush where her family still waited. The kit looked somewhat funny leading a large group of warriors much stronger and bigger than her, but she was determined to help her mom and brother.

Sky watched the young she-cat as they traveled even farther across the hills. She, too, knew where the heather lay, but many cats still didn't trust her, and she didn't want to make it seem like she was a traitor for talking to other rogues.

_What does it matter?_ Sky snapped to herself. _You're not part of WindClan, and you never will be. They all still see you as a savage loner; who cares if any cat finds out you know the sick cats?_

But did they all really dislike her? Some cats seemed to accept her, mostly the apprentices and elders. Sunpaw, for one. He was the first cat had had ever really been nice to her. And although she liked being a loner, WindClan was starting to feel more natural to her. Against her will, she was slowly becoming part of it.

Sky shook herself, lashing her tail. _See? You should just tell them now that you know these cats, that you kept the rogues a secret from your – no, _their_ leader. Then they'll drive you out, and you can be free again, happy again._ But she couldn't bring herself to speak.

Oh well. Maybe Star would say something when they found her.

_If_ they found her.

Sky shivered. Hadn't the albino kit told them that her mother was extremely sick? What if Birchtail couldn't help her? She didn't like the thought. After all, Sun and Moon were Stone's kits, her brother's kits. What would they do without Star? They weren't old enough to take care of themselves. Would Onestar ask them to join WindClan?

"Here," squeaked Moon, interrupting Sky's thoughts. "See? Over there." she pointed with her muzzle towards the dull looking heather at the bottom of a hill.

Onestar followed her gaze. "Can you go down and tell your mother and brother that you are here with other cats that can help?" he mewed gently.

Moon nodded and ran down the slope. Onestar motioned for the patrol to follow and started after the kit.

* * *

"Sun? Sun?" Moon tumbled into the heather bush. "Sun, are you there?"

"Moon?" There was a rasping voice within the fronds.

"Sun! Are you okay?" Moon burrowed into the bush until she was next to her brother.

The young tom coughed, his golden-brown fur matted. "You came back, you're back." He attempted to purr, but choked instead. Moon shuddered. The sickness had gotten even worse Strangely she seemed to be stronger now, instead of weak. Maybe it was the herbs that Birchtail had given her.

"What happened while I was gone?" she asked quietly.

"Mom was coughing," Sun meowed. "And then you left for herbs, I think. But then you didn't come back, and after a while I started choking too. Everything went black for a while. When I opened my eyes, mom was really still, and the sky was beginning to light up. I'm sick again, right?"

Moon pressed her nose to her brother's flank. "Don't worry, the cats are bringing herbs now, like the ones the rainy-paw cat brought."

"What? Is the rainy-paw cat here?" Sun struggled to his paws.

Moon pushed to back down so he could rest. "No, she was fighting… and then she ran away."

Sun blinked at her. "So we won't get any more herbs? So we're-." He choked. "We're going to die from the sickness?"

"No, I said the _other_ cats are here."

As if to prove her point, Onestar's meow sounded from near the heather bush. "Moon? Are you there?"

"Yes," the albino kit called. "Come on outside. The cats are nice. At least," She gulped. "Most of them." An image of Smoketail growling at her had flickered into her mind.

"Moon?" Now Birchtail was mewing to her. "Bring your brother and mother out here, so I can give them herbs." The apprentices following him had leaves and berries crammed into their mouths, and the medicine cat motioned with his tail for them to set the healing plants down.

"Come on, Sun," urged Moon. "Go out there, and they'll help you. I'll wake mom." Sun nodded, coughed hoarsely once, then stumbled to his feet and padded out of the heather bush. Moon watched him stagger up to the WindClan cats and saw Birchtail staring down at him, sniffing his pads and inspecting his dull eyes.

The kit turned to the other side of the heather where Star nestled in the branches. The pale queen lay peacefully on the grass, for once not disturbed by coughing. Moon purred, walking to her mother happily, because the older she-cat would get better at last.

"Star? Mom? Mom, wake up!" Moon nudged the she-cat. Star was still and silent, unresponding. Moon frowned. "Come on, the WindClan cats want to help." More prodding, and yet Star lay sheltered beneath the heather. "Come on!" Unsheathing her small claws, Moon yowled angrily and shoved her mother's side.

"Moon? Is the queen there?" Onestar stared through the opening between heather stems.

"Mom, wake up!" wailed Moon, but Star didn't answer. "Please, Star! Herbs… there are herbs!" The kit pushed heavily on her mother side, and the she-cat rolled over limply. "Mom!" Moon sat back staring at space, not noticing Ashfoot and Onestar as they mewed to her and crept around the heather. They dragged Star out of it, and a brown queen picked up the kit gently and brought her to Birchtail. The medicine cat had given Sun some thick leaves and the kit was swallowing them painfully.

He glanced up at Moon was dropped on the ground next to him. "We're all going to be fine now, huh?" he purred. The little tom cocked his head to one side, confused by his sister's stillness. "We _are_ going to be okay, right?"

"Mom," Moon whispered weakly.

Sun frowned and turned just as Birchtail jumped up and leapt to Star's side as Ashfoot carried her over. "Why is she…?" The kit froze, his mouth hanging open. "She's still so quiet-," he started again, and broke off. Realization hit him like a Twoleg monster. "No, no!" The kit lurched to Star and lay against her pelt.

Birchleaf was crushing berries and waving them in front of Star's muzzle, but the queen did not move. Moon gazed sightlessly, the scene swimming in front of her eyes. Then it was replaced by a dark void full of stars. The cat's voice was in her head, and this time she didn't run from it.

_As a star fades, the wind and sky will nurture and heal._

_The sun will blaze, and the moon will glow even brighter than the fire._

The kit froze, because now there was another meow. And it sounded so familiar, so like… Star…

_Spirit of the Moon, learn of yourself and your power. The time to grow and understand is now. A storm of rain will break again, and flood the hills and forest, until the night's soul brings peace once more... _

Then she was gone.

Moon shivered, suddenly cold. "Star! She cried out, and collapsed back into the ground.


	15. Death at Dawn

**I am making this the last chapter! Yah! Read the note at the end too, because there is going to be a sequel. **

* * *

Birchtail no longer tried to give berries to Star. He sat forlornly, looking off into the distance at a shape no others could see, like the albino kit Moon had. The medicine cat had given up, and he was taking it too hard. 

Sky stared at the pale she-cat on the ground. Cats died all of the time, it wasn't Birchtail's fault! And yet she could feel the sadness too, and she didn't even know this cat! The queen's life was slipping away as she lay on the hill, maybe it had already gone.

The kits were beside their mother. Moon had collapsed onto the ground, but Birchtail had taken no notice. Sun whimpered faintly and curled up between his mom and sister, but neither responded.

Sky jumped suddenly as Star twitched very slightly. Sky glanced at Birchtail but the tom didn't detect it. The rogue leapt to the pale cat's side. After all, Stone had been Star's mate.

Star was still again, as though she had never moved. Sky began to wonder if the queen had never really moved and it was just her imagination. Carefully she touched the she-cat's flank.

Immediately Star's eyes snapped open. They were glazed over with sickness. Sky jolted back in shock and tumbled into Onestar. The WindClan leader jerked his head up. "Sky, what are you-?" His meow faded away as he saw Star. "Birchtail!"

The medicine cat turned slowly to gape at the brown tom, then shook if head as if he were wakening. "What?"

"The she-cat!" hissed Onestar.

Birchtail lurched up and saw the queen. Her pale pelt was moving ever so slightly up and down as she tool small, harsh breaths. The tom padded heavily to her side and shook his head.

"She opened her eyes, but I can do nothing. She is on her way to StarClan now." He shrank back in pain from loss.

"_If_ StarClan accepts such rogues," Smoketail growled, coming up behind Onestar.

"Oh, shut up!" spat Sky, unsheathing her claws. "Stop being so mean!"

Smoketail stared at her, narrowing his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Sky?"

Both Smoketail and Sky flinched and look down. Star was staring up at the young she-cat with glassy eyes, and she shivered. "Birchtail," Sky whispered. "Can you give her herbs now?"

This time it was Star who shook her head painfully. "No herbs… can help now…" she rasped harshly.

"But what about Sun and Moon?" asked Sky. "They need you, they can get better. Birchtail already gave them leaves, and you can-."

"No…" Star coughed once. "You can take care of them… after all, Stone is your brother."

"I can't!" Sky nearly screeched. She was barely older than an apprentice! The tortoiseshell started to protest, but the spark in Star's eyes had faded and she stared sightlessly up at the sky.

At that moment, Moon cried out and opened her eyes. Sun whipped his head up and pressed his pelt into his sister's, and the two huddled together. Sky stared at them, aware of the responsibility Star had so calmly given to her. Her claws gripped the earth in anxiety.

The loner looked up to see Onestar padding up. She glanced around to see that all of the WindClan cats were staring at her. Sky shuddered and wrapped her tail around Sun and Moon instinctively.

The WindClan leader dipped his head to her, then gazed at the kits. They peeked up at him nervously.

Onestar blinked slowly. "So…" he began quietly. The tom glanced at Star's form, growing colder as the sun rose over the horizon and golden-red light flooded the hills, then at her kits, shivering in the morning light. He flicked the tip of his tail. "Do you want to join WindClan?"

Sky drew in a quick breath. Join WindClan? Was this what she had been waiting for, or what she had dreaded? The loner took a quick look at the Clan cats. They were all watching her with a curious expression. Sky glanced at the apprentices. She would have to be one, although she was older. But still… Her eyes met Sunpaw's, and he shrugged as if to say that she should choose.

Sky turned back to Onestar, feeling the kits hunching beside her. Slightly she dipped her head and sheathed her claws.

* * *

**This is the end! Ha ha! It is a kind of cliffhanger ending, although it's pretty obvious what Sky said, because for some reason I am going to write a sequel called Blazing Sun, Shining Moon about Sun and Moon struggling to live in WindClan and what happens about the prophecy Moon heard in her head while Star was dying. So watch for that!**

**-Pinefur**


End file.
